Kyrie Irving 'Never Had A Doubt' About Returning to Nets Amidst Controversy
The Brooklyn Nets superstar guard, Kyrie Irving was away from the team for a total of 16 days under the organization's team-imposed suspension. Those 16 days translated to a total of eight regular season contests with the suspended guard sitting at home watching his teammates from afar.
When Irving was asked after tallying a quiet 14-point (5-of-12 shooting from the field and 2-of-5 from 3-Point range), five boards, and one steal performance in his 26-minute return game whether he had any doubts if he'll be able to return to the game he loves amidst his social media controversy, he simply said, 'never had a doubt.'
"It felt good, it felt good," said Irving following his return to the Barclays Center hardwood in the 127-115 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday night. "Just missed my teammates, miss the coaching staff. Getting prepared with them in the morning and then carrying over to the game. It felt good."
The Nets superstar guard was suspended after posting a link to a film filled with antisemitic material to his personal Twitter and Instagram accounts. The social media postings immediately drew controversy and after Irving failed to apologize in two different media sessions, the team handed him a suspension that cost him eight games.
An emotional Irving apologized, once again, Sunday morning expressing remorse for his actions and stating that he isn't for hate speech and antisemitism. After he completed a series of requirements - the formal apology was one of them - the Nets officially reinstated their cornerstone guard shortly after his press conference.
Now that Irving will be available for Brooklyn moving forward, Kevin Durant is glad that the primary focus will be aimed purely at basketball after weeks of off-the-court distractions.
"It's always nice to just focus on the game," Durant said. "We understand the circumstances around our game. Our league is getting bigger and so much attention on it, so every little thing might get blown up nowadays. As much as we can focus on playing ball and keep growing as a team, I think our fans can get behind that. I think you guys [media] can get behind that as well. We just want to keep stacking up good days and see what happens."
The Nets head coach, Jacque Vaughn relaid the same message about focusing primarily on basketball. Vaughn, who told Irving to enjoy hooping heading into his return game, is glad his superstar is back on the floor and in the lineup. Now, his focus is on reincorporating Irving back into the flow and not disrupting the rise in play and winning.
“It was great to have him out there," said Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn on Irving's return performance in Brooklyn's win over Memphis. "You know, trying to see what units was best for him; playing with the second and the first unit and just getting the feel of how are we going to piece this thing together. So great to have him get some minutes out there and for us to get a win while he's doing it.”
